Climate Change Management Walter Leal Filho · Jelena Barbir Richard Preziosi Editors Handbook of Climate Change and Biodiversity Climate Change Management Series editor Walter Leal Filho, Faculty of Life Sciences, Research and Transfer Centre “Sustainable Development and Climate Change Management”, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/8740 Walter Leal Filho Jelena Barbir Richard Preziosi • Editors Handbook of Climate Change and Biodiversity 123 Editors Walter Leal Filho Faculty of Life Sciences, Research and Transfer Centre “Sustainable Development and Climate Change Management” Hamburg University of Applied Sciences Hamburg, Germany Richard Preziosi School of Science and the Environment Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester, UK Jelena Barbir International Climate Change Information and Research Programme Hamburg, Germany ISSN 1610-2002 ISSN 1610-2010 (electronic) Climate Change Management ISBN 978-3-319-98680-7 ISBN 978-3-319-98681-4 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98681-4 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018950933 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 This work is subject to copyright All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Preface Climate change as a whole, and global warming in particular, are known to have a negative impact on biodiversity in three main ways Firstly, increases in temperatures are known to be detrimental to a number of organisms, especially those in sensitive habitats such as coral reefs and rainforests Secondly, the pressures posed by a changing climate may lead to sets of responses in areas as varied as phenology, range and physiology of living organisms, often leading to changes in life cycles (especially but not only in reproduction), losses in productivity, or even death On occasions, the survival of some very sensitive species (e.g corals) may be endangered Thirdly, the impacts of climate change to biodiversity are estimated to be felt in the short term in respect of some species and ecosystems, but also in the medium and long term in many biomes Indeed, if left unattended, some of these impacts may be irreversible Many individual governments, NGOs, financial institutions and international donors are currently spending billions of dollars in projects around climate change and biodiversity, but with little coordination Quite often, the emphasis is on adaptation efforts, with little emphasis on the connections between physio-ecological changes and the life cycles and metabolisms of fauna and flora, or the influence of poor governance on biodiversity There is therefore a perceived need to not only better understand the impacts of climate change on biodiversity, but to also identify, test and implement measures aimed at managing the many risks climate change poses to fauna, flora and micro organisms In particular, the question as to how better restore and protect ecosystems from the impact of climate change, also has to be urgently addressed This book has been produced to address this need Papers here compiled look at matters related to the use of an ecosystem-based approach to increase local adaptation capacity, consider the significance of protected areas network in preserving biodiversity in a changing northern European climate, and the impact of climate change on specific species, and wild terrestrial animals It also presents a variety of case studies such as the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, the effects of climate change on the biodiversity of Aleppo pine forest of Senalba (Algeria), climate change and biodiversity response in the Niger delta region of Nigeria, and v vi Preface the impact of forest fires on the biodiversity and the soil characteristics of tropical peatlands in Indonesia Moreover the book also entails contributions on how to promote the climate agenda and biodiversity conservation at the local level It is a truly interdisciplinary publication, and we hope it will be useful to scholars, social movements, practitioners and members of governmental agencies, undertaking research and/or executing projects on climate change and biodiversity across the world Hamburg, Germany Hamburg, Germany Manchester, UK Winter 2018/2019 Walter Leal Filho Jelena Barbir Richard Preziosi Contents Water Management and Climate Change in the Focus of International Master Programs in Latin America and the Carribian Frido Reinstorf, Petra Schneider, Raymundo Rodriguez Tejeda, Leslie Santos Roque, Henrietta Hampel and Raul F Vazquez Mangrove Conservation Policies in the Gulf of Guayaquil Daniel Ortega-Pacheco, Maria J Mendoza-Jimenez and Paul Herrera Biodiversity Issues Should Be Better Taken into Account in the Energy Transition Agnès Hallosserie, Hélène Soubelet, Hélène Leriche, Patricia Savin and Jean-Franỗois Silvain Approaches to Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity Assessment in Belarus Siarhei Zenchanka and Nikolai Gorbatchev Community Action for Biodiversity and Forest Conservation and Adaptation to Climate Change in the Wild Coffee Forests (CAFA) Svane Bender and Mesfin Tekle Impact of Climate Change on Sawfly (Suborder: Symphyta) Polinators in Andalusia Region, Spain Jelena Barbir, Luis Oscar Aguado Martín and Xavier Rodriguez Lloveras 25 45 61 79 93 Coffee, Climate and Biodiversity: Understanding the Carbon Stocks of the Shade Coffee Production System of India 113 Nadesa Panicker Anil Kumar, Amsad Ibrahim Khan Saleem Khan and Vaniyan Balakrishnan Implications for Biodiversity of Potentially Committed Global Climate Change (from Science and Policy) 135 Peter D Carter vii viii Contents Ensuring Co-benefits for Biodiversity, Climate Change and Sustainable Development 151 Risa Smith, Oscar Guevara, Lauren Wenzel, Nigel Dudley, Valeria Petrone-Mendoza, Martin Cadena and Andrew Rhodes Sustainable Hydropower: Using Ecosystem-based Adaptation to Increase Local Adaptation Capacity in Brazil 167 Katia Cristina Garcia, Alexandre Mollica, Denise Ferreira de Matos and Luciana Rocha Leal da Paz The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative as an Adaptive Response to Climate Change 179 Charles C Chester and Jodi A Hilty Saving the Last Endemic-Church Forests in Ethiopia: The Case of Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve 195 Teowdroes Kassahun and Svane Bender Factors Affecting Communication and Information Sharing for Water Resource Management in Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) 211 Odongtoo Godfrey, Ssebuggwawo Denis and Lating Peter Okidi Climate Sentinels Research Program: Developing Indicators of the Effects of Climate Change on Biodiversity in the Region of New Aquitaine (South West, France) 223 Fanny Mallard and Laurent Couderchet Introducing Spatio-Temporal Conservation Units: Models for Flexible Optimization of Species Persistence Under Climate Change 243 Diogo Alagador and Jorge Orestes Cerdeira The Impact of Climate Change and Variability on Wild Terrestrial Animals in Selected Rural Coastal Regions of Kenya 259 Bertha Othoche Biodiversity Risks for Belarus Connected with the UV Climate Change 273 Aliaksandr Krasouski, Siarhei Zenchanka, Elena Loginova and Maxim Andreev The Impact of Forest Fire on the Biodiversity and the Soil Characteristics of Tropical Peatland 287 Cahyono Agus, Fatikhul F Azmi, Widiyatno, Zinda R Ilfana, Dewi Wulandari, Dony Rachmanadi, Marinus K Harun and Tri W Yuwati Promoting Climate Agenda and Biodiversity Conservation at the Local Level: A Case for Nepal’s Rural and Urban Municipalities 305 Krishna Roka Contents ix Climate and Biological Diversity: How Should the Effects of Climate Change on Biological Diversity Be Legally Addressed in International and Comparative Law and Solutions? 325 Sergio Peña-Neira Is Adaptation to Climate Change Threatening Forest Biodiversity? A Comparative and Interdisciplinary Study Case of Two French Forests 337 Timothée Fouqueray, Antoine Charpentier, Michel Trommetter and Nathalie Frascaria-Lacoste Hypotheses from Recent Assessments of Climate Impacts to Biodiversity and Ecosystems in the United States 355 Shawn L Carter, Abigail J Lynch, Bonnie J E Myers, Madeleine A Rubenstein and Laura M Thompson Significance of Protected Area Network in Preserving Biodiversity in a Changing Northern European Climate 377 Raimo Virkkala, Risto K Heikkinen, Saija Kuusela, Niko Leikola and Juha Pöyry Wild Power, Biodiversity and Solar Farms: A Business Model to Encourage Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation at Scale 391 David Gazdag and Guy Parker Handling the Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity 403 Walter Leal Filho 394 D Gazdag and G Parker roots Such areas are more likely to resist single severe drought events or multiple small drought events Where solar farms are managed to encourage wildlife, they should provide refuge for a variety of native plants, invertebrates, reptiles and birds (Montag et al 2015) A network of solar farms managed for wildlife spread across the landscape should support adaptation of wildlife to climate change which requires space and a variety of habitats in order to adapt to shifts in range Finally, sites that are rich in biodiversity are likely to provide a range of ecosystem services for the benefit of society These services are likely to support agricultural production, as discussed later in this chapter Solar Farms and Biodiversity The relationship between solar farms, land management and biodiversity has been the focus of recent studies and there exists a small but growing evidence base as well as a large body of independent research into parallel agri-environment schemes Recent evidence suggests solar farms can provide positive benefits for biodiversity where creation of native habitats, including species rich grasslands, hedgerows and wetlands has been undertaken (Montag et al 2015) Biodiversity gains from such management approaches can include a higher diversity of botanical species, a higher abundance of common species of butterfly and bumblebee, and a higher diversity of breeding birds, including greater abundance of species of conservation concern (Montag et al 2015) The solar industry, in developing its approach to biodiversity, has borrowed land management options from the UK’s agri-environment schemes (BRE 2014) Options such as grassland field margins and native species-rich hedgerows can fit well around solar infrastructure and have been recognised as priority habitats for the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (JNCC 2012) Field margins can harbour arable wild flowers such as shepherd’s needle, corncockle, broadleaved spurge, cornflower, corn buttercup and pheasant’s-eye which are rare in the wild In turn, wild flowers are important sources of nectar and pollen for bumblebees, wasps and butterflies Grasshoppers and beetles take cover in the grasses, along with many beneficial predators, such as spiders and ladybirds, which feed on crop pests like aphids (Wildlife Trusts 2018) Such invertebrate rich habitats provide foraging for birds and small mammals Adoption of biodiversity-focused land management is fairly limited within the solar industry at present Wild Power’s approach is to promote the adoption of agrienvironment style options for land management, but also to encourage the creation of rare habitat types such as species rich limestone or acid grassland, which have declined greatly in the past century and which have resulted in associated species like the Adonis blue butterfly having been virtually extirpated from the UK Wild Power, Biodiversity and Solar Farms: A Business Model … 395 Ecosystem Services Society benefits from nature in a multitude of ways in the form of food production, the provisioning of clean drinking water, the decomposition of wastes, and the pollination of crops amongst many others These benefits, termed ‘ecosystem services’ contribute to human wellbeing and economic wealth (Millenium Ecosystem Assessment 2005) Ecosystem services are all underpinned by biodiversity, which can be, depending on the definition, a regulator of ESs, a final ESs or a good (Mace et al 2012) Solar farms that encourage biodiversity have the potential to supply a range of ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, water cycling, crop pest predation and pollination Research on solar farms and ecosystem services is currently limited, but it is possible to draw upon wider research undertaken on UK agriculture The SPIES project—Solar Park Impacts on Ecosystem Services (Armstrong and White 2018) has collated evidence on ecosystem service benefits from a range of different land management options Land managers can use this decision-support tool to assess the impacts of different management approaches on ecosystem services The evidence is sourced from a database of scientific papers, mainly concerned with agri-environment schemes, including the habitat options already mentioned above The SPIES tool is being used by Wild Power as a mean of assessing the value of different land management options for ecosystem service provision To give an example, SPIES determines that creating field margins should positively impact the following ecosystem services: climate regulation, pollination regulation, water quality and flood regulation—along with maintaining habitats and biodiversity Planting and maintaining hedges should positively impact habitats for biodiversity, pollination regulation and pest and disease regulation SPIES also considers cultural ecosystem service values such as recreational and aesthetic interactions, which for Wild Power, and for the solar industry more generally, can be an important component of public acceptance of a project It is likely that ecosystem services generated on a solar farm would not only benefit the solar farm itself, but should also support agricultural production in the surrounding landscape It is not currently possible to say to what degree birds and insects associated with a biodiverse solar farm may have a positive benefit as crop pest predators upon surrounding arable land In addition, it is not possible to determine the influence of pollinators with increasing distance from a source habitat However, independent research is under way to address these knowledge gaps For example, a study launched in 2017 is investigating the potential for strips of wild flowers planted within arable crops to encourage crop pest predators and so reduce pesticide use (Guardian 2018) 396 D Gazdag and G Parker Pollination Pollination is among the best studied ecosystem service in the UK and is afforded more specific attention here The majority of global, and European, biodiversity is made up of insects, but still relatively little is known about the distribution and abundance of most species, and even less about their dynamics and the threats they face (Potts et al 2015) This lack of knowledge on the status and trends of the majority of Europe’s species is of concern and is particularly important for species that play important functional roles, such as pollinators Wild pollinators in Europe are dominated by 2000 species, including bumblebees and solitary bees, hoverflies, butterfly, beetle and other fly species Declines in wild bees and hoverflies have been clearly documented in the Netherlands and the UK where monitoring has taken place (Potts et al 2015) According to SPIES, maintaining wild flower/nectar seed meadows and hedgerows, connecting habitats, creating buffer zones/filed margins, ceasing pesticide/fertilizer use and grazing later in the year are all management steps that should enhance pollinators, and would be expected on a Wild Power solar farm Data gathered from systematic surveys of selected pollinators on a Wild Power pilot solar farm in the UK present an interesting case study (Parker, unpublished data) Bumblebee abundance in the years following baseline (when the solar farm was constructed and wild flower habitats were introduced) is seen to increase significantly, with moderate increases in species richness too Butterflies on the other hand exhibit large fluctuations, with an initial spike in abundance, followed by a decline to below baseline levels Species richness of butterflies declines through the survey period (Fig 3) The graphics of bumblebees and butterflies raise some interesting questions on the interaction between pollinators, and what services can a Wild Power farm provide According to Potts et al (2015), bumblebees have more stable population in UK and Europe, while butterflies are more volatile and continue to decline This background volatility in butterflies may contribute to the fluctuations displayed in Fig Honeybees are encouraged on Wild Power solar farms, as community involvement is central to the proposal, and honey is a useful means of demonstrating the connection between solar energy and food production However, recent studies suggest honey bees can potentially compete with wild pollinators (Barbir et al 2015, 2016) Based on this evidence, and until further research is available, Wild Power will set conservative guidance for the number of hives per hectare that a solar farm can support This is an example of how Wild Power is committed to using the best available evidence to inform its management decisions Wild Power, Biodiversity and Solar Farms: A Business Model … Bumblebees 80 35 70 30 60 25 50 397 Butterflies 20 40 15 30 10 20 10 - Baseline (2014) 2015 Species 2016 2017 Individuals Baseline (2014) 2015 Species 2016 2017 Individuals Fig Results of years of invertebrate surveys at a single solar farm in the UK managed for biodiversity Species richness is shown in blue and abundance is shown in orange (Source G Parker, unpublished data) Scaling up If all solar farms in the UK were managed for biodiversity, then their potential to deliver biodiversity and ecosystem service benefits could be significant at the national scale However, only a small sub-set of solar farms currently adopt this approach The question remains how to scale up these benefits across the solar industry Wild Power aims to use market forces to ensure uptake at a meaningful scale for climate change resilience and adaptation, and UK’s biodiversity and ecosystem services A New Way of Selling Electricity While green electricity has growing demand, both in the corporate and domestic market segments, no supplier currently offers verified biodiversity benefits Wild Power will sell renewable energy to domestic customers from sites that have been enhanced for biodiversity according to strict standards—and directly connects customers to their local sites Market research indicates that a significant portion of buyers who are already committed to renewable energy will be willing to pay for this additional benefit A scalable model has been designed to bring private financing for large scale biodiversity enhancement and climate change mitigation (Fig 3) Working with local ecologists, the rewilding plan is developed, based on the needs of the sites and in alignment with the rigorous Wild Power guidelines The biodiversity outcomes are monitored annually using systematic methods and are subject to independent verification Wild Power enters a contractual agreement with solar farms to purchase their future energy and provides them with the full package of re-wilding 398 D Gazdag and G Parker Fig The Wild Power process As an integral part of the business model, Wild Power aims to engage customers and neighbouring communities in the solar farm’s land management Wild Power Community Engagement Wild Power aims to support climate change mitigation by encouraging acceptance of renewable energy production through its community programmes Some community members may be concerned about visual impact on the landscape, or that the solar farm takes land out of agricultural production By engaging community members in the activities of the solar farm itself (e.g through site visits and monitoring activities) and by offering the opportunity to purchase power and thus contribute to wildlife management at their local site, it is hoped attitudes will be positively influenced European children fascinated by gadgets tend to spend less time playing outside This results not only in the loss of connectivity with nature, but also with direct health problems (Moss 2012) Wild Power aims to use its unique offer to engage kids in a dynamic programme of education (both formal and informal) to demonstrate how a solar farm contributes to their life For example, how their smart phones are charged, how a power plant works, how solar energy is transformed into the grid, how photosynthesis captures sunlight and how it is transformed through the food chain to the well-deserved lunch (Fig 4) Wild Power’s approach to community engagement has been developed with the help of Lorna Lyle, Director of Solar Power Education An example of activities is given in Table below Wild Power, Biodiversity and Solar Farms: A Business Model … 399 Fig Wild Power engaging with children Table Examples of Wild Power community and training programs Activity Description Ecology Team Building and Bug Hotel Team Building Community participants and customers work with ecologists to study and improve the biodiversity at a wild power site They will learn ‘on the job’ about hedge planting, weed removal, seeding, building hibernacula and bug hotels, and undertaking botanical surveys School Wild Power Car Challenge—Team Building School children will design, construct, test and race solar or wind powered cars as part of a Wild Power challenge event Educational Visits School children will visit a Wild Power site and learn how renewable energy is generated, supporting their science learning and encouraging them to be thoughtful consumers They will study the biodiversity of the site and follow this up with workshops in class These activities are designed to fit into the National Curriculum Teachers are invited to tour a Wild Power site, learn how energy is generated, complete a bug hunt and build a bug hotel, return to a local school to share findings and explore ways to use the site in the classroom Teacher’s Day Wild Power is committed to sharing the results of its work both to raise awareness of biodiversity loss and climate change and to support practitioners in achieving best practice land management on solar farms This will be achieved through education programs, collaboration with NGOs and universities, case studies published online sharing results through papers and symposia 400 D Gazdag and G Parker Sustainability Sustainable development is at the core of Wild Power’s business model The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and addresses a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection (UN 2016) Wild Power contributes to SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 15 (Life on land), SDG (Affordable and clean energy) and is planning to expand to SDG 14 (Life Below water) Wild Power also aims to contribute to SDG (No poverty) SDG (Zero hunger) SDG (Quality education) SDG (Clean water and sanitation)—and in line with SDG 17 Wild Power seeks partnerships to reach our goals To scale up successful project cases to programmes or sustainable market level, it is important to adopt a holistic approach to private sector engagement on climate change and green growth (OECD 2018) As Wild Power extends its program to other renewable energy sources (e.g wind, off-shore wind, hydro) and other countries and regions, the approach will be able to support multiple SDGs at a meaningful scale Conclusions Wild Power encourages native biodiversity on solar farms as a core component of its business model Wild Power sites have the potential to supply multiple benefits from the land, including the generation of renewable solar energy, improved biodiversity, and the supply of a range of ecosystem services including carbon sequestration, and water/air/soil quality, pollination, flood and soil erosion regulation, among many others These benefits not only contribute to climate change mitigation, they also support adaptation both of native biodiversity and agricultural production Such benefits are vitally important in the UK where land resources are limited and biodiversity is in decline, and are relevant to many situations globally Constraints of This Research The Wild Power approach is constrained by the following knowledge gaps: The evidence base concerning the relationship between solar farms and biodiversity is currently limited and further research is required to understand the positive and negative impacts of applying different land management options Wild Power, Biodiversity and Solar Farms: A Business Model … 401 There is a limited understanding of the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem services, and specifically the quantity and characteristics of ecosystem service supply from specific habitats References Armstrong A, White PCL (2018) Solar park impacts on ecosystem services Retrieved from http:// www.lancaster.ac.uk/spies/ Accessed on 20 Apr 2018 Barbir et al (2015) The attractiveness of flowering herbaceous plants to bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) and hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) in agro-ecosystems of Central Spain Agric For Entomol 17:20–28 Barbir et al (2016) Functionality of selected aromatic Lamiaceae in attracting pollinators in Central Spain J Econ Entomol 109(2):529–536 BEIS (2017) Renewable Energy Planning Database, April 2017 Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewabl e-energy-planning-database-monthly-extract Accessed on Mar 2018 BRE (2014) Biodiversity guidance for solar developments In: Parker GE, Greene L (eds) Caesar L, Rahmstorf S, Robinson A, Feulner G, Saba V (2018) Observed fingerprint of a weakening Atlantic Ocean overturning circulation Nature 556:191–196 Fahrig L (2003) Effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 34:487–515 FAO (2010) Challenges and opportunities for carbon sequestration in grassland systems A technical report on grassland management and climate change mitigation, Integrated Crop Management, vol Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/agphome/documents/climate/AG PC_grassland_webversion_19.pdf Accessed on May 2018 Guardian (2018) Stripes of wildflowers across farm fields could cut pesticide spraying Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/31/stripes-of-wildflowers-across-far m-fields-could-cut-pesticide-spraying?CMP Accessed on Mar 2018 Hayhow DB, Burns F, Eaton MA, Al Fulaij N, August TA, Babey L, Bacon L, Bingham C, Boswell J, Boughey KL, Brereton T, Brookman E, Brooks DR, Bullock DJ, Burke O, Collis M, Corbet L, Cornish N, De Massimi S, Densham J, Dunn E, Elliott S, Gent T, Godber J, Hamilton S, Havery S, Hawkins S, Henney J, Holmes K, Hutchinson N, Isaac NJB, Johns D, Macadam CR, Mathews F, Nicolet P, Noble DG, Outhwaite CL, Powney GD, Richardson P, Roy DB, Sims D, Smart S, Stevenson K, Stroud RA, Walker KJ, Webb JR, Webb TJ, Wynde R, Gregory RD (2016) State of nature 2016 The State of Nature Partnership JNCC (2012) UK biodiversity action plan Retrieved from http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/ukbap Accessed on Mar 2018 Mace G, Norris K, Fitter H (2012) Biodiversity and ecosystem services: a multilayered relationship Trends Ecol Evol 21(1):19–26 Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) https://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/index.html Montag H, Parker G, Clarkson T (2015) The effects of solar Farms on local biodiversity: a comparative study Clarkson and Woods and Wychwood Biodiversity Retrieved from https://www.solar-trade.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/The-effects-of-solar-farms-o n-local-biodiversity-study.pdf Accessed on Apr 2018 Moss S (2012) Natural childhood Stephen National Trust report OECD (2018) Private sector engagement to address climate change and promote green growth Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/dac/peer-reviews/Policy-Brief-4-Private-Sector-Engagem ent-to-Address-Climate-Change-and-Promote-Green-Growth.pdf Accessed on Mar 2018 POST (2015) Emissions from crops, UK Houses of Parliament, The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, NOTE No 486 402 D Gazdag and G Parker Potts S, Biesmeijer K, Bommarco R, Breeze T, Carvalheiro L, Franzén M, González-Varo JP, Holzschuh A, Kleijn D, Klein A-M, Kunin B, Lecocq T, Lundin O, Michez D, Neumann P, Nieto A, Penev L, Rasmont P, Ratamäki O, Riedinger V, Roberts SPM, Rundlöf M, Scheper J, Sørensen P, Steffan-Dewenter I, Stoev P, Vilà M, Schweiger O (2015) Status and trends of European pollinators Key findings of the STEP project Pensoft Publishers, Sofia, p 72 Scurlock J (2018) National Farmers Union (NFU), UK Personal comment STA (2018) What is a solar farm? Retrieved from https://www.solar-trade.org.uk/solar-farms/ Accessed on May 2018 UN (2016) The sustainable development agenda Retrieved from https://www.un.org/sustainabled evelopment/development-agenda/ Accessed on 20 Apr 2018 Wildlife Trusts (2018) Arable field margins Retrieved from https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlif e/habitats/arable-field-margins Accessed on Mar 2018 Handling the Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity Walter Leal Filho Abstract This final chapter describes the need for and outline some of the ways via which the impacts of climate change on biodiversity may be handled It also suggests some measures which may be helpful in reaching different groups, so as to better engage them in adaptation efforts Introduction Climate change and a whole and global warming in particular, are known to have a negative impact on biodiversity in three main ways Firstly, climate change leads to increases in temperatures, which are known to be detrimental to a number of organisms, especially those in sensitive habitats such as coral reefs and rainforests Secondly, the pressures posed by a changing climate may lead to sets of responses in areas as varied as phenology, range and physiology of living organisms, often leading to changes in life cycles (especially but not only in reproduction), losses in productivity or even death On occasions, the very survival of some very sensitive species may be endangered Thirdly, the impacts of climate change on biodiversity are estimated to be felt in the short term in respect of some species and ecosystems, but also in the medium and long term in many biomes Indeed, if left unattended, some of these impacts may be irreversible The Convention on Biodiversity acknowledges the fact that biodiversity is affected by climate change, and that biodiversity, through the ecosystem services it supports, also makes an important contribution to both climate-change mitigation and adaptation In addition, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has, in connection with its 5th Assessment Report (AR5), recognized the fact that without effective mitigation strategies, further changes in climate, atmospheric carbon dioxW Leal Filho (B) Faculty of Life Sciences, Research and Transfer Centre “Sustainable Development and Climate Change Management”, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Ulmenliet 20, 21033 Hamburg, Germany e-mail: walter.leal2@haw-hamburg.de © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 W Leal Filho et al (eds.), Handbook of Climate Change and Biodiversity, Climate Change Management, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98681-4_25 403 404 W Leal Filho Table Some of the impacts of climate change on biodiversity Impact Environmental Social dimension dimension Depletion of Damages to the May lead to migration ecosystems structure of the physical environment Economic dimension Economical losses due to limited natural assets Damages to specific species Threats to the survival May lead to food of sensitives ones insecurity Income depletion Disturbances in ecosystem services Decreases in ecosystems´ productivity May aggravate poverty Losses in revenue from trade Disruptions in life cycles Changes in the dynamics of organisms and reproduction patterns Limited availability of Lower availability of specific food stocks resources, driving up prices Changes in seasonal rythms Distress to species May cause social distress May cause unemployment Source Author ide (CO2 ), and ocean acidification may be expected These are projected to have substantial impacts on water resources, coastal ecosystems, infrastructure, health, agriculture, and biodiversity (IPCC 2014) The current rates of biodiversity depletion which may be traced back to human activities are a reason for concern Even though human activities have historically been seen as leading to losses of biodiversity, the intensity with which climate change as a whole and global warming in particular is taking place, means that a growth in the damages to natural assets and to the ecosystems services provided- some of which are crucial for human well-being- are expected In particular, increased greenhouse gases emissions may be combined with other drivers such as extreme events (especially droughts) and accelerate biodiversity depletion As outlined by Chapin et al (1998) The ecosystem consequences of a changing biodiversity are significant and need to be avoided But despite this reality, Leadley et al (2014) outlined the fact that the degradation of biodiversity and ecosystem services over the twenty-first century could be far greater than was previously predicted The impacts of climate change on biodiversity may be seen at three levels: the environmental impacts, the social impacts and the economic impacts Table summarises them and offers an overview of their dimensions The list provided in Table is by no means exhaustive It serves the purpose of illustrating the variety of impacts seen, which indicate the need to adopt a preventive approach when trying to handle them One concrete case study can be seen at Lake Victoria, which is divided among Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania With a surface area close to 27,000 mile2 , it is the biggest lake in Africa, and the second largest freshwater lake in the world, offering a basis for the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people who depend on it for Handling the Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity Fig Influences of climate change on biodiversity in the Amazon rainforests Source Author 405 Release of greenhouse gases Changing climate conditons Changes in carbon stocks Impacts on ecosystems Impacts on individual species agriculture, fishing and other economic activities As a result of climate change and the increased temperatures, levels of evaporation have increased This is combined with the concentration of nutrients from agriculture on the water which, in turn, may provide good conditions for the excessive growth of algae or macrophytes, which seriously affect the water quality These changes favour the most robust algal and animal species whilst the more sensitive ones may disappear, and the changes interfere with various beneficial uses of water (Gikuma-Njuru et al 2015) The impacts of climate change to the biodiversity of Lake Victoria ersoty are well beyond the environmental ones: a reduction in the levels of fish production could lead to a imbalance in food availability This could, in turn, aggravate poverty and possibly catalyse political instability in the affected areas A second concrete case study can be seen from the Amazon rainforests: climate change is believed to be influencing the dynamics of rivers in the region in a significant way It may also influence their role as carbon stocks (Jantz et al 2014) and the biodiversity elements it is associated with (Fig 1) In addition, increased temperatures and reduced rainfall in some areas may also reduce suitable habitat during dry, warm months and potentially lead to an increase in invasive, exotic species, which then can out-compete native ones According to Brodie et al (2012), there are many key concerns, among which is the fact that aridification could increase the accessibility of previously non-arable or remote lands, elevate fire impacts and exacerbate ecological effects of habitat disturbance As these two examples illustrate, the problem is serious and deserves prompt attention, despite the fact that there are some challenges which need to be overcome 406 W Leal Filho Challenges in Biodiversity Conservation Under a Changing Climate There are various challenges which make the handling of the impacts of climate change to biodiversity a difficult task Some of them are as follows: i climate impacts may affect ecosystems completely or in part, leading to changes in physio-chemical conditions and altering the structure of habitats; ii these impacts may also be felt as the species´ level, meaning that the most sensitive ones either considerably suffer or may even perish; iii damages to biodiversity are difficult to be reversed, especially when they are at advanced stages; iv apart from damages to fauna and flora, impacts on biodiversity often reflect on negative consequences to the livelihoods of some populations, especially the poorer ones which depend on natural resources as sources of income There are also many factors which exarcerbate the negative influences of climate change to biodiversity conservation Firstly, the pressures caused by physio-chemical structures of some ecosystems, combined with a heavy reliance on them -and often their excessive use-, may lead to a decrease in their availability to provide their ecosystem services This is the case of oceans at the macro level, which are shown to be influenced by climate change (especially, but not only by acidification), with various negative effects to the fauna and flora they host, or to lakes (which along with evaporation also are put under pressure by euthrophication) at the micro level Secondly, climate change affects biodiversity in the sense that it causes disruptions in food chains The reductions in the population of some species—or the complete disappearance of particular species as the literature documents—may lead to changes in the food supply For instance, reductions im plankton due to high temperatures may affect the many water based organisms which feed on them Thirdly, changes in temperature and weather conditions may trigger other phenomena which may seriously undermine biodiversity The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggests that flooding associated with sea-level rise is likely to have substantial impacts on lowland areas such as the Amazon River delta (IPCC 2014) Another example is seen in respect of forest fires, as those observed in California or parts of Portugal and Spain in 2017 Long dry spells can provide suitable conditions for forest fires, which can spread over large distances and wipe out entire populations of animals and plants, over a short period of time There is also a perceived need to better communicate the connections between climate change and biodiversity (Leal Filho 2009; Leal Filho et al 2018), since this may support attempts to catalyse real action At the macro level, the “Lima Declaration on Climate Change and Biodiversity” issued in 2014 lists a variety of measures which need to be pursued, to reduce the impacts of climate change on biodiversity Since then, there have been calls for mutually supportive implementation of the nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the national biodiversity strategies and Handling the Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity 407 action plans under the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 (CBD 2017) It is important that coordinated efforts between the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity are implemented, in a way which is consistent with the action needed at the national and local levels Conclusions: Moving Towards Mitigating the Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity At present, many individual governments, financial institutes and international donors are currently spending billions of dollars in projects around climate change and biodiversity, but with little coordination Quite often, the emphasis is on adaptation efforts, with little emphasis on the connections between physio-ecological changes and the life cycles and metabolisms of fauna and flora, or the influence of poor governance on biodiversity There is therefore a perceived need to not only better understand the impacts of climate change on biodiversity, but also to engage on an action pyramid which entails a set of measures aimed at managing the many risks climate change poses to fauna, flora and micro organisms (Fig 2) These are: • identify the procedures which may be deployed to reduce the impacts of climate change to biodiversity • test them with a view to checking their feasibility and efficiency • implement them in a wider scale, with a replication and upscaling which may go well beyond the areas originally tested Implement Test Identify Fig Action pyramid to handle the impacts of climate change on biodiversity Source Author 408 W Leal Filho In particular, the question as to how better restore and protect ecosystems from the impact of climate change also has to be urgently addressed A second course of action needed, is a greater emphasis to the protection and/or restauration of the ecosystems most affected by climate change Here, the list is quite long: from forests to lakes, from mountains to valleys and mangroves Ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation should therefore be one of the top priorities, both in respect of government policies, but also in terms of development assistance An investment in ecosystems protection is likely to yield benefits 10 times or more greater than the focus on a particular species Efforts to protect and recover damaged ecosystems may potentially represent a significant step forward, since they automatically benefit the many plant and animal species, as well as microorganisms, which inhabit these ecosystems Furthermore, in trying to address the problems climate change poses to biodiversity, it is important to consider a set of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially: • • • • • SDG (No Hunger), SDG (No Poverty), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 15 (Life on Land) Since biodiversity issues permeate all these themes, an integrated approach is needed, as opposed to the many disconnected approaches which tend to prevail today References Brodie J, Post E, Laurance WF (2012) Climate change and tropical biodiversity: a new focus Trends Ecol Evol 27:145–150 Chapin FS, Sala OE, Burke IC, Grime JP, Hooper DU, Lauenroth WK, Lombard A, Mooney HA, Mosier AR, Naeem S (1998) Ecosystem consequences of changing biodiversity Bioscience, 45–52 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (2017) The Lima declaration on biodiversity and climate change: contributions from science to policy for sustainable development CBD Technical Series No 89 CBD, Quebec, Montreal Gikuma-Njuru P et al (2015) Eutrophication of the Lake Victoria ecosystem Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project, Kampala IPCC (2014) Climate change 2014: synthesis report Contribution of working groups I, II and III to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change [Core Writing Team, Pachauri RK, Meyer LA (eds)] IPCC, Geneva, 151 pp Jantz P, Goetz S, Laporte N (2014) Carbon stock corridors to mitigate climate change and promote biodiversity in the tropics Nat Clim Change 4:138–142 Leadley P et al (2014) Interacting-regional scale regime shifts for biodiversity and ecosystem services Bioscience 64(8):665–679 Leal Filho W (2009) Communicating climate change: challenges ahead and action needed Int J Clim Change Strat Manage 1(1):6–18 https://doi.org/10.1108/17568690910934363 Leal Filho W et al (2018) Theory of climate change communication Handbook of climate change communication, vol Springer, Berlin ... Preziosi • Editors Handbook of Climate Change and Biodiversity 123 Editors Walter Leal Filho Faculty of Life Sciences, Research and Transfer Centre “Sustainable Development and Climate Change Management”... variety of case studies such as the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, the effects of climate change on the biodiversity of Aleppo pine forest of Senalba (Algeria), climate change and biodiversity. .. dimension of climate change and environmental conflicts becomes clear: the gap between the main causes of climate change and beneficiaries of the economic system in the Global North on the one hand and,